{% include "includes/auth/janrain/signIn_traditional.html" with message='It looks like you are already verified. If you still have trouble signing in, you probably need a new confirmation link email.' %}

Are the Palm Beach County inspector general’s audits a waste of money?

Outgoing Palm Beach County Commissioner Karen Marcus is raising questions about the value of some of the services the county’s inspector general offers.

Former County Commissioner Karen Marcus, left, has said the IG's office run by Sheryl Steckler, right, duplicates efforts. (Palm Beach Post file photos)

In an interview this month, Ms. Marcus said audits done by the Office of Inspector General are “a duplication of services” and “a waste of money.”

Marcus’ argument was that the county commission already pays an internal auditor to do regular audits of the county government. Sometimes, she said, they end up doing the same work or investigating spending in the same departments.

The county’s internal auditor disagreed, though, saying that he and the inspector general’s office usually coordinate and don’t butt heads too often.

“If I go somewhere and they have just been there, I will just go somewhere else,” Internal Auditor Joe Bergeron told the Post. “I have plenty of work to do.”

Voters created and expanded the independent Inspector General in the wake of scandals that sent several county commissioners to prison and earned Palm Beach County the nickname “Corruption County.”

The IG’s office is headed by Sheryl Steckler, who has faced opposition from some cities. Despite the criticsm from Ms. Marcus, who left the county commission this week after 28 years, the county overall has been supportive of the IG.

What do you think? Are the inspector general’s audits a waste of money? Take our poll and/or leave a comment?